Uncategorized

By: Sami Kleib There was no mention of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s speech. However, he did make a statement that Gulf leaders should not take lightly. He said: “I do not promise you prosperity and security the way kings and leaders promise their followers and subjects…” This criticism of kings […]

Iraq

Shiite Volunteers: Asset for Iraqi Army or Drawback?

contributors

By Daoud al-Ali | Baghdad | niqash | Volunteers on the streets of Baghdad who have responded to the call to defend Iraq. Thousands of Shiites have volunteered to fight Sunni extremists in Iraq. But in the clashes between extremist groups and volunteers, the illegal Shiite militia groups are proving by far the best fighters […]

Algeria

Algerian Soccer/ Football and the Black Box of French History

contributors

By Francis Ghilès Senior Research Fellow, CIDOB When Algeria qualified for the knockout stage of the World Cup by winning against Russia, the Algerian press celebrated their team’s qualification as the greatest victory ever. In France large street celebrations were accompanied by the usual firecrackers and Algerian flags and were followed by clashes between groups […]

science

Can Meditation Slow Ageing? One Nobelist thinks So

contributors

By Jo Marchant It’s seven in the morning on the beach in Santa Monica, California. The low sun glints off the waves and the clouds are still golden from the dawn. The view stretches out over thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean. In the distance, white villas of wealthy Los Angeles residents dot the Hollywood […]

Environment

Rumi on the Environment: Behind the Beauty of the Moon is the Moon-Maker

contributors

[For more of Rumi see 53 Secrets from the Tavern of Love: Poems from the Rubiayat of Mevlana Rumi -ed. ] By Aisha Abdelhamid Rumi: “Behind The Beauty Of The Moon Is The MoonMaker” Rumi’s eloquent relationship with the natural environment is his signature — his elegantly simple expressions reflect appreciation for both Creation and […]

Featured

Syrian Opposition: Baghdadi “Caliphate” lame attempt to take Spotlight off his Crime Spree

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s proclamation of himself as “caliph” is rather like the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan declaring himself the Holy Roman emperor. A small criminal/ terrorist group making claim on an archaic institution is more worthy of ridicule than awe. Having offended educated Muslims around the world, the extremely […]

censorship

Ruling Hindu Tea Party wants to “Develop” India for its 1%

contributors

By Gyanendra Pandey New Delhi Through the President’s address to Parliament on June 9, 2014, the newly elected Indian Government has officially outlined its short and longer-term agenda. The emphasis, as expected, is on faster economic growth. Questions of welfare and security for the poor and disadvantaged are, however, very superficially addressed. This has to […]

Bush

Blackwater: Nice State Dept. you have here, shame if Anything happened to It

contributors

State Department official documented in memo that mercenary threatened him just weeks before Nisour Square massacre By Jon Queally As the trial continues against Blackwater mercenaries accused of a bloody massacre that took place in Iraq in 2007 and left seventeen civilians dead, new documents reveal that just weeks prior to that incident a State […]

Domestic drones

FAA insists on Regulating Delivery Drones

contributors

Via Gas2 The FAA doesn’t think much of Jeff Bezos’ idea to deliver packages to Amazon.com customers using drones. Yesterday the agency issued a proposed ruling that defines such deliveries as part of a “business purpose” and not a recreational or hobby activity. Well, d’uh! TechCrunch reports that the agency said in a footnote to […]